"In the Pocket" Straight Ahead Jazz Caught on Tape at Cohearent Recording

a "Hackensack West" winner

Canadian saxophonist Cory Weeds first came to my attention as the reissue producer of a remarkable Charles Tolliver Music Inc double LP, Live at the Captain's Cabin (Reel to Real RTRLP 014) a limited to 500 edition released for last Fall's Record Store Day "Black Friday".

Cohearent Audio's Kevin Gray had mastered several Reel to Real releases for Weeds (but for an "s" that could sound transactional) but until his granddaughter Amber played a Weeds track for grandpa (off Dreamsville a 2017 release with the Jeff Hamilton Trio), he apparently was unaware of his saxophone playing, though Weeds' discography includes almost two dozen albums.

Suitably impressed, Gray asked Weeds if he'd like to record an album live for Cohearent Records, at Cohearent Recording (a/k/a "Hackensack West") a relatively small living room space in the house where Cohearent Audio resides behind it in the former garage.

The offer resulted in this album recorded live, minimally mic'd as in "days of old", November 25th 2024. Weeds called upon his friend, New York City-based pianist David Hazeltine and the weekend before the session the two of them worked out the material live at a Vancouver club. The woodshedding paid off: the entire album was recorded in a single 4 hour session.

Hazletine is a studio veteran with recording credits on dozens of albums including 2018's The Time Is Now (Smoke Sessions) with Ron Carter and Al Foster. He's also appeared on a few Chesky releases. Here he arranged a cover of the Jimmy Van Heusen standard "Deep in A Dream" and co-wrote with Weeds "Everything's Coming Up Weeds" (Weeds released an album of the same name in 2009 but the song is not on it).

Weeds and Hazletine are joined in the quartet by Neal Miner on bass and Philadelphia-based hard bop/soul jazz drummer Byron Landham who had a long association with, among others, another Philly born jazz artist the late Joey DeFrancesco.

The quartet meshes as if it has been playing together since forever. Part of that is because the music is so "in the pocket" these guys were together from the first downbeat. On the opener, a cover of the late tenor saxophonist Harold Vick's "Commitment", following Weed's first extended solo that gives way to one by Hazletine, my brain dialed in the applause! Both because the solo was worthy of it and because the live playing felt as if it was happening before an audience and that's where applause would go.

Weeds' sound is rich, liquid full-bodied and you could say juicy. He can deliver with ease long luxurious lines, and throw out short, sharp twisty ones too, but it all swings lively in ways the recently reviewed Chris Cheek record, does not (nor was that its intent). That record was more cerebral. This one is more hard bop-ish and faster paced swinging, though gorgeous balladry is included.

This could be Kevin Gray's most coherent Cohearent production. The sound is big in the best old Blue Note way, big sax on the left, big drum kit right and piano and bass center-ish. There's no added reverb-just room sound and you'll want to and crank it up and enjoy as if you're in the small space. When Landham hits the snare, dots the tom, or raps the stick on the rim it pops! On my system Weeds floats in space not anchored to the speaker. When the first tune is over, you'll likely say "yeah!"

The production of this record is a collaborative effort that includes many familiar names. Gray chose "Tone Poet" Joe Harley to produce. in the liner notes Weeds writes that at first he was intimidated by the choice..."Did I really want that guy (who spends his time listening to the greatest tenor sax players ever) in the booth listening to me? NO!" Gray's wife Charlene served as production manager. Matt Lutthans, best known now for cutting at Blue Heaven Studios on Doug Sax's TML lathe, was on hand and gets credit for helping set up and "debugging" at rehearsal. Gary Salstrom now at Paramount Record Pressing in Denver did the lacquer plating (electroforming is a more accurate term that Gray uses in the notes) and Rick Hashimoto oversaw the pressing at Fidelity Record Pressing. Stoughton produced the tip-on gatefold jacket. Salstrom was once at QRP, Hashimoto once at RTI and so it's a big, mostly happy vinyl fanatic family! This record and Kissa bars are perfect for one another. You're sure to enjoy the music and sound.